Patent Pendency Not Improving, USPTO Admits

Law360 (October 11, 2005, 12:00 AM EDT) -- The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is taking longer and longer to process patent applications, even as patent quality remains a major challenge, the agency's second-in-command concedes in an interview with IP Law Bulletin.

“The time it takes to issue a patent, or patent pendency, is continuing to go up. We’re going to have to think of new ways to improve, but we have several ideas already under development,” said Stephen Pinkos, deputy director of the USPTO.